Blogs from Mt Isa, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 5

Our first stop on the road inland was in Atherton which seemed a pleasant town, then we began to get more remote and we visited Mt Hypipamee crator, which is, yep a crater. The pretty Milla Milla waterfall was our stop for lunch, before we made our way to a brilliant free camping group in the town of Ravenshoe. It was only around this time that we realised that free camping groups are prolific throughout Australia, especially away from the touristy East Coast. The site in Ravenshoe is on a fantastic old railway yard, still with railway paraphernalia scattered around the grounds, on a weekend the campers (mostly Grey Nomads) are moved on as a steam train still operates for tourism purposes. We were welcomed in by the nomads, and enjoyed our brief stay in Ravenshoe. ... read more

As a slight detour to our original plan (which was simply to make our way up the east coast to Cairns) we embarked on a trip that was to take us 12 days and 5,760km (approx 3,500 miles) west of our original destination - but, oh, was it worth it - it certainly was - every single step. We left Hervey Bay the day after our brilliant trip to Fraser Island and spent the next three days driving north to Rockhampton, then on further north to Gladstone, picking up the Capricorn Highway and beginning our adventure into the outback and towards the centre of Australia. It really was very different. We were able to drive long distances passing very few vehicles and as the miles went by the townships got smaller and less frequent. We ... read more

Tuesday 05 June 2007 We’ve made it to Mt Isa and surprised Matt’s parents. They weren’t expecting us until Friday and we arrived yesterday - great to see Nanny’s face (photo included of course). We’ve had some fun in the last couple of days. We stayed at Bladensberg National Park just outside of Winton (still Central Eastern QLD) and finally met a family similar to ours!! Lily made a mate in Jack, Ethan kept harassing their 9 month old (and I thought we were doing it early!!) daughter Ivy and their parents Rebecca and Antony were I think just as happy to see other adults without grey hair as we were. They have been on the road for 3 months and are doing it a bit rougher than we are - pretty amazing really. They are ... read more

Blog 14 Back to uncivilisation We had a few days to spare before meeting with Kate , but that was good it gave us the chance to call in on Sue’s sister Barb , and her husband Ronnie , they live on the outskirts of Brisbane, and how welcoming they were, we had a wonderful dinner , followed by ice cream , a rare treat , and a real bed for the night. Nice to see you Barb and Ronnie , and thank you for a lovely evening and for the use of the computer , eventually it did as it was told. We then drove to the glass house mountains ( named by Captain Cook , the shape of them reminded him of the big glass houses back in England). We were not far ... read more

Moikka taas, viimeista paivaa viedaan, tanaan saatiin sarvet ja pallit pois viimeisilta kuudeltasadalta nuorelta sonnilta... Laskeskelin huvikseni tassa illalla etta olen kasitellyt taallaoloaikanani varmaankin lahemmas 40 000 paata karjaa, nyt tuntuu ettei kesta oma paa nahda enaa yhtakaan. Pisimmat matkat niita on kaveletetty hevosen selassa 30 ja 40 kilometria 40 asteen helteessa, ja ellei kukaan ole autolla matkassa ei vetta saa kunnes puolilta paivin ja kuudelta olet jo satulassa.. Nyt meilla ei ole enaa kuin kevyita aidanrakennus ym toita parisen viikkoa ja senjalkeen sateita pakoon kesalaitumille koko konkkaronkka. Sateet vielakin antavat odottaa itseaan ja on muutenkin ollut mukavan viileaa viimepaivina. Tai sitten sita on niin sopeutunut ilmastoon etta aamulla 25 asteen kylmyydessa kaikki on toppatakit niskassa toissa.. Huomenna on taas vapaata, kaikki lahtevat Georginatow... read more